Lucy Worsley was born in Reading, studied Ancient and Modern History at New College, Oxford, and completed a PhD in art history at the University of Sussex. Her first job after leaving college was at Milton Manor in Oxfordshire. Soon after that she moved to the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, as administrator of the Wind and Watermills Section. She joined English Heritage in 1997, first as an Assistant Inspector and then as an Inspector of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings. In 2002 she went to Glasgow Museums before coming to London as Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces in 2003. She presents history programmes on TV, including the current BBC series Elegance and Decadence: The Age of Regency. Her most recent series is If Walls Could Talk, for BBC 4, based on her book of that title. Previous books include Courtiers: The Secret History of Kensington Palace and Cavalier: A Tale of Passion, Chivalry and Great Houses.